The Long Run

6.15 mi, 54:43, 8:53 avg

Ran on Starkey bike trail with the Striders.  Arrived a couple minutes late so mostly ran by myself but did enjoy a few minutes of social hour at the end.  Mostly easy pace running with a short pickup at the end.

5.12 mi, 47:43, 9:18 avg

Ran in the neighborhood solo.   I was originally going to meet Jamie to run but she texted saying she wasn't going to make it but at least I was already up.  Easier to roll out of bed on time when meeting someone.  Cool weather is staying scarce but it is at least coolish.

Ran with Jamie and the Striders on Stakey Blvd.  I stopped my watch at the turn around and forgot to start it again but since it was out and back, pretty easy to figure out the total distance!

Pace was about 9:15 average.

6.16 mi, 58:39, 9:30 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie this morning in the neighborhood.  Joe turned back after a couple of miles (his first run back since Sunday's Space Coast Marathon).  Continued on with Jamie.  Was at a 10:00 average pace at the water stop and then went a little bit faster on the way back.  Saw Andy just as he was leaving to go to Busch Gardens (it's "Physics Day" event through his school).

This was my third year running the Little-Markou 5K in honor of Mike's daugher who tragically passed away way too young in a tragic car wreck with funds going towards scholarship money in her honor.

My legs have been feeling sore/dead the past several weeks and I was really just looking to show up today and support a good cause.  However, my legs and rest of me had some life in them, more than I expected.  The course was new this year, running through the Longleaf neighborhood in one big loop with 27 turns compared to the past two years where the course was on SR 54 and Trinity Blvd with only 3 turns.

Warmed up beforehand with a total of 1.31 miles mostly easy running and 4 30 seconds strides.

Plan was to just go out and see what I could do.  Swept up in the starting group and did the first mile in 6:19, with the last quarter of that mile passing 5 or 6 runners.  At about 1.5 miles caught up with Jean who looked like he was going to run with me but then dropped back and said he just didn't have it today.  Now I was pretty far back from the next set of runners and might have slowed a little, finishing mile 2 in 6:33.  During mile 3 I caught up to another couple of runners and wasn't too far back from Stan.  I think physically I might have been able to dig in and pass him up but I wasn't there mentally.  Mile 3 finished in 6:31, and finishing up the last 0.17 maybe a little faster.  (Ok, maybe not really 0.17, officially it would be 0.107, but with 27 turns that's not too far off).

So, Stan was number 2 in AG at 20:30, and the next fastest 45-49 guy was 20:24, so the three of us were grouped pretty close.  Ryan had an awesome run with 18:51 taking 1st Masters which I won last year but he won two years ago when outkicking me and beating me by 0.1 seconds.   Jolene was about 20:12 good for first place female master but was about one minute behind her 14 year old daughter.

Race was really well put together, attendance was pretty good but I hope they can get even more next year.

11.31 mi, 1:47:23, 9:30 avg

Ran with Cynthia and Jamie on Starkey Blvd.  Had to make a little detour at the start because the top on my drink bottle was leaking red gatorade all over my hands, what a mess!  Got going again, ran into Starkey Park to the shelter and then turned around and headed back.  Picked up Scott along the was and finished the last few miles with him. Very pleasant morning.  Lots of other runners out, many making up their long run from yesterday due to the race.

7.13 mi, 1:10:33, 9:53 avg

Started in Longleaf with the Striders.  Most everyone had alread left.  I ran to the water stop point and then started running with Fernando for most of the rest of the run.

4.2 mi, 40:00, 9:31 avg

Short and easy paced run with a garmin that ran out of batteries 1.7 miles into the run but I'm pretty familiar with distances now on and out and back.  Time is pretty close so the pace is derived.

5.72 mi, 57:12, 10:00 avg

Easy run in the nbhd with Jamie.  Legs were feeling pretty dead at the start but much better at the end.

Holiday Halfathon Race Report

Views from the middle back pack with some pleasant takeaways.  Since the Shipyard half marathon a few weeks ago my legs have been somewhat dead.  I did not feel like I was close to PR shape or even getting closer to breaking 1:30 than what I did at Shipyard Half.  I had signed up my SO Jessica to run this race again like last year.  But last year we each ran our own races.  This year she had trained a little bit less than last year (although this year and last year her longest run was 5 miles, she had a few more shorter runs in addition to her 5 mile run).  This race is also typically the morning after my work Christmas dinner party.  It all added up to taking it easy and running slow.

Morning was not cold, and just cool enough to not be warm at the start.  The Madeira Beach town hall where the race starts was completely unrecognizable.  The old building which looked typical of a small town beach community town hall was replaced by a very modern looking 21st century building.

Race plan was to run/walk at a 2-1 ratio.  Crowd thinned out after a mile or so and we found ourselves passing and getting passed by more or less the same sets of people.  There was a couple running in long sleeve running shirts which had a Christmas sweater design that gave the illusion of Christmas sweaters that made me feel hot watching them run.  First three miles especially were very comfortable.  We tried a couple of 3-1 ratio runs but Jess decided that 2-1 would be better.  At the 4 mile mark we are on top of the Park Blvd bridge crossing from the beach islands across the inland waterway to the mainland and on our way to the Pinellas trail at mile 7.   At this point she said she was starting to feel the run a bit but was still ok.

There is a little park where we wind around a small lake and then join the Pinellas trail heading north.  There's a restroom there where I said I was going to stop as there seemed to be no line (at least in the men's side).  Women's side had a small line so we suffered about a two minute delay for the stop.  Up until then we had been keeping our miles under 12:00, maybe 11:30's to 11:40's.

Next up was the first pedestrian bridge which we walked up and resumed running at the top.  Jess lagged behind a little bit, so for the next one I had an idea.

Weather was warming up a little but still felt very nice.

I think about mile 9 or so, Jess asked if we could switch to a 1-1 ratio.   It really didn't hurt our pace that much.  We had slowed down to right about a 12:00 pace, and the 1-1 ratio slowed us to about a 12:30.  But the goal was to finish.  Here and there, when we were getting close to the next mile but would not hit it during the run portion I'd say "let's just keep running until after that mile marker up ahead".

Comming up the next pedestrian bridge, we walked and I took Jess's hand and gave her a little tow up the bridge.  On the other side of the bridge, a 50ish woman with long grey hair, very fit , and wearing candy cane stockings and Santa hat remarked about how sweet looked and how this is what running was all about.

Not long after the last bridge, the course turns off of the Pinellas trail and into Taylor Park where you can see the finish area but then you run back out to a road before coming back into the park.  After the 12 mile sign we increased our running intervals a little bit.  As the plan evolved and we settled around a 12:00 average pace I was thinking around 2:36 would be good.  But we had slowed and lost a little bit of time at the restroom so new goal was stay under 2:40.

Finish line finally just around the corner, I encouraged Jess to run ahead to finish before me.  But she kind of foiled my plan by slowing as we went under the finish arch but before actually crossing the timming mat so I inadvertantly beat her by 0.2 seconds.

My first time running this race Dec 2006, just before turning 40, so I've been here for nearly every one of the 10 races as either a runner or a spectator with this being my first year as pacer.  The course is every bit as good running in the back two thirds as it is running in the top 5%.  They've added more aid stations since the first year I ran it.

I did still get a chance though to walk up to the podium to pick up awards - not my awards, but still - speedy Jolene placed first female Masters and comeback kid Mike (who blogged here for a while) picked up 2nd place Grand Master.

I still need to look out for and introduce myself to two super fast local FRBers Mike M and Andrew who also ran this year.

And one gift I received (among other things) was my dead leg feeling has completely gone away, re-intro to back-to-back long runs (12 miles yesterday, 13.1 today), run-walk practice (will come in handy for Georgia Death Race).

7.62, 1:07:59, 8:55 avg

Ran about 4.5 miles with my son Andy who has recently joined the track team and needed some easy miles this morning.   It was great running with him.  I'm hoping that after a season of track with structured workouts he'll be able to smoke me in a 5k.

8.11 mi,. 1:12:34, 8:56 avg

Ran at Longleaf/Starkey Blvd with the Striders.  Went out easy, declined doing intervals with Dixie and Anthony.  Caught up to Jorge just inside Aristide nbhd and ran with him.  He wanted 8 miles so we continued far enough then turned around.  Mostly a steady pickup with first mile at 10:07 and last two at 8:16.  Back to being warm again.  Said hi to Jenny and her dog NiKYO.  Then, quick breakfast with Dixie and Anthony at McD's and brought home cinnamon melts for the boys.

7.01 mi, 1:08:14, 9:44 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd.  Good to have my running buddies back.  Joe was on extended post marathon break and Jamie has been traveling a bit.  Easy conversation pace.  Weather was warm and humid again, but kinda nice.

Noted the sort of odd (but in a beautiful way) color sky just before the sun came up.

7.01 mi, 1:01:09, 8:44 avg

Christmas Eve morning run with the Striders.  Kind of like a regular run but start at 7:00 instead of earlier and people bring lots of goodies for afterwards.  I showed up a few minutes late so picked up the pace trying to catch up with my friends.  Eventually found Joe and Jamie at the water stop at about 2.7 miles.  Ran out to 3.5 miles and then turned around.  Air felt soupy on the way back but turned nice after getting back and feeling a light breeze.  Caught up with several people I hadn't seen for a while.

6.55 mi, 59:05, 9:02 avg

Christmas morning run (almost afternoon).  Ran out to Trinity Blvd, along the grassy shoulder, a bit past Little Rd before turning around and coming back through via Robert Trent Jones Pkwy with a stop at the fountain.  Got back to my house, saw the boys weren't here yet so ran to the end of the street and around the corner, headed back to the house but this time my truck was in the driveway.  Now, time to relax a bit with the boys before my parents head over at 4:00 for dinner.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

14.61 mi, 2:14:23, 9:12 avg

Ran with Cynthia and Jamie from Longleaf to Diane's house then in and out of Starkey Park and then straight back to Longleaf.  Coolish temperatures (much nicer than Thursday), but still a little bit humid.  Had coffee at Havanah Dreamers with a few of the other runners, headed home and then decided to run two more miles around the neighborhood loop.

1.03 mi, 9:48, 9:31 avg

Just a very quick run out at back from my house before taking Sammy for his Sunday morning car ride and grocery store run.

6.71 mi, 1:01:34, 9:10 avg

Ran with Andy for 5.05 miles (I think maybe his longest run so far), nice morning and glad to get a chance to run with him again.  Distance seemed no problem at all to him like he could have added on a few more miles with not much trouble.

After getting back to the house, continued on by myself for another loop around the neighborhood.

7.16, 1:06:47, 9:20 avg

Ran with Joe and other Striders at Longleaf, up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail. Remembered to bring the case of water I bought at Costco to support our water stops.  Overall a pretty good run.

6.08 mi

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, later start than usual (8:00) because no reason to rush this morning.